DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

“THE EMPTY TOMB”

by Eunice Vega-Perez, Trinity UMC, Hackettstown, NJ

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:12-17

The Resurrection of the Dead

"¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

After spending the entire week visiting the many places Jesus went to do ministry here on earth, our very last destination was the Garden Tomb. In that place the guide who worked there made us stop for a while and reflect about the great sacrifice Jesus the Christ did on the cross for us all. Before we literally went to see the tomb we also reflected in the horrible and cruel death the cross was back in those days. The cross was a death full of humiliation; an inhumane death, a death without dignity. Oh, but we all know the end of the story-The Empty Tomb. There I was standing in the place where it is believed that our Savior victoriously raised from the death so all of us could have a purpose driven life. It was a lot to take in.

Paul reminds us that if we do not believe Christ resurrected from the death, then our faith is in vain. God indeed loved us so much that God entered into humanity through the person of Jesus Christ into a world of hopelessness, into a world of chaos, to bring us hope for today and hope for tomorrow. God sent Jesus into a world to set us free from sin and death so through Jesus we could be in the right relationship with God. Don’t you think we follow and serve a very intentional God? I surely think so!

I have done a lot of reflection since I came back from the Holy Land about my experience standing in front of the empty tomb and the implications it has for me as a spiritual leader in the 21^st century. The empty tomb calls me today to vigorously preach the Good News of Jesus Christ with joy and excitement. The empty tomb moves me to seek justice in places where there is not. It moves me to take risk, it moves me to challenge the status quo and it moves me not to be silent. The empty tomb moves me to expand the kingdom of God just where I am regardless of the consequences. The empty tomb reminded me of the eschatological hope-- that Christ will return for you and for me and we will be together at His heavenly banquet. So whatever we go through for the cause, at the end, it is absolutely worth it!

I am so glad we believe and worship the Savior of the Empty Tomb!

In Christ,

Eunice Vega- Perez